Toledo Hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Non-Conference Finale on Tuesday

Tuesday, December 29

Toledo, OH

7:00 PM

University of Toledo

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Junior Sophie Reecher and the Rockets have won four straight games.

Toledo Hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Non-Conference Finale on Tuesday

12/26/2015 8:17:00 AM | Women's Basketball

TOLEDO, OH - Toledo (4-6) will wrap up its non-conference slate against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-7) on Tuesday, Dec. 29 at home. The opening tip is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and can be seen on ESPN3.

UT is 1-2 at home this season and 93-25 (.788) wearing the white uniforms under eighth-year head coach Tricia Cullop.

The Rockets are also 15-19 (.441) all-time in non-league finales since joining the Mid-American Conference in 1981-82, including a 5-2 (.714) ledger under coach Cullop.

UT is coming off a hard-fought 60-51 victory over UIC on Sunday, Dec. 20 to stretch its winning streak to four straight games.

The difference in the non-conference contest was Toledo's ability to get to the charity stripe and convert. The Midnight Blue & Gold knocked down 22-of-28 (78.6 percent) from the free throw line, while the Flames converted only 3-of-8 (37.5 percent).

Senior Brenae Harris paced the Rockets with a game-high 18 points, six rebounds and four helpers in the road triumph, en route to earning MAC West Division Player of the Week accolades for the second time in the last three weeks.

Toledo also received solid efforts from junior Janice Monakana and senior Ana Capotosto, tallying 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The aforementioned trio did a bulk of the damage at the free throw line, shooting a combined 17-of-20 (85.0 percent).

The Rockets would need every one of those free throws in a tightly contested affair, as they shot only 34.0 percent (17-of-50) from the field, including 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from three-point range, to snap UIC's (7-2) five-game winning streak.

UT is fueled offensively by the quartet of Harris, Capotosto, Monakana and sophomore Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott, who are averaging 13.8, 12.1, 9.7 and 9.2 ppg, respectively.

The Golden Lions enter Tuesday's contest in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Most recently, UAPB suffered an 84-40 setback at Texas Tech on Dec. 20.

UAPB features an attack with two players averaging at least 9.0 points per game led by Niya Head at 12.5 ppg. Head is also tallying a squad-best 7.1 boards per contest.

UT and UAPB will meet for the first time. Toledo is 3-0 all-time against Southwestern Athletic Conference schools (1-0 vs. Alabama State; 1-0 vs. Mississippi Valley State; 1-0 vs. Prairie View A&M).

The last time the Rockets faced a SWAC member occurred on Nov. 10, 2013 when they registered a 95-48 victory vs. Mississippi Valley State in the consolation contest of the Glass City Tournament at home.

Following Tuesday's contest, the Rockets will open Mid-American Conference play at Ball State (7-3) on Saturday, Jan. 2. Game time versus the Cardinals is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Worthen Arena.

UT has been pegged fourth in the West Division, while the reigning division champion BSU has been picked to finish second in the West Division, according to a preseason vote of the league's 12 head coaches.

Toledo has dropped the last three match-ups against its division rival but still holds a 52-21 advantage in the all-time series, including a 22-13 edge in games in Muncie.

A season ago, BSU swept the regular-season series for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign, claiming a 69-61 road victory (Feb. 7) and a 71-55 home triumph (March 7).